I just don't get it....

Well, that doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense to me either, that's the main reason why I would, have and will pass on ever hiring ANY debt relief company. :shock:

Its because they expect to settle these debts for only 40-50 cents on the dollar.

Andy,

you are wasting your time and money buddy. please settle your own debt and do not give your money away, you too if you can talk like a normal person over the phone settle your own debt for 40-50 cents on the dollar, it does not take a rocket scientist.

I do not think it is as easy you guys put it. All you need is a good debt settlement company. Let the experts do what they know best. Everybody needs to make money. Capitalism my friends. If you can save some even when you spend some then what is the harm.

it is not easy, with the proper coaching which is cheaper than a debt settlement program anyone can settle their own debt and save money.

How do you settle on your own when you don't have any money to pay them? I owe $9K on one card and $8K on another. Even if they agreed to settle for half, I don't have half.

You have to wait to negotiate until you have the money to pay. There's no point in wasting your time negotiating if you can't pay right then. See this thread:

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/settlement/how-to-negotiate.html

There is a significant difference between the fly by night debt settlements companies and the service provided by an Attorney - do your research. How long has the Lawyer or Law Firm being in business. Many attorney started as Bankruptcy attorney and do to clients demands they have evolved to Legal debt reduction.

Legal Debt Reduction started from the concept that if the conditions of a legal agreement have changed , both parties have the right to negotiate new terms and conditions. When done properly by an attorney your debt repayment is not only lower, but how it gets reported to your credit profile is also done differently.

Over the last 10 years alot of NON-Attorney companies are offering the service - many are doing a sloppy job scamming people of their money. But there are Law firms that offer the service to clients who do not want to file bankruptcy, but are unable to pay 100% of their debt.

This is a good process if you hire the right team - Beware of BBB rating - especially in California, BBB presidents and CEO are currently or have served on Consumer credit counseling Boards and they are bias on their rating of law firms offering Debt Reduction Settlements services.

The truth is that most of us are drowning in credit card debt and if the Financial Institutions can get debt releif, why can we? The sooner you are out of debt and stay out of debt the healthier your financial future.

The only debt we need to have is GOOD Sound Mortage - only when we can afford it - but Credit Card Debt is Slavery!

The settlement company help you put off the creditors untill you have saved up the money. We tried settling an account ourselves and had no luck whatsoever. We are using debt settlement usa and are close to having our first account settled. They took out a portion for the first 10 month and the balance was what they expected to be able to settle the first account by the end of the 10 months. Then the total amount we are putting in goes toward the settlements. And we keep the money in our own account and we write the check/send the money to pay off at the end. Good deal all around. We had no luck at all settleing our own accounts.

I don't recall seeing anything on this forum about CCCS (consumer credit counseling services) which is a non profit organization that helps you pay off debt . They do charge $25 per month to manage the account but that is worth it to me not having to deal with the collection calls and they have a plan to pay off the debt. Everything but the $25 per month goes toward paying down the debt.

CCCS is actually endorsed by some of the financial experts including Suze Orman (suzeorman.com)

That is very true cheekla. A long time ago I went throgh one and they were great and did there job well. I trust them very much.

I recently started negotiating my credit card debt with 3 different card companies. At a minimum, they will offer you a no-interest, no-penalty, 5-year repayment plan for your current balance. If you persist, they WILL negotiate a pay-off, no more than 25% of your balance and, if you stick with the line that you cannot pay them, they will settle for anywhere between 10-15% of the balance. The way the card companies work is that they will attempt to collect the debt for 210 days, after which they do a "charge-off", i.e. they close the account. The more you go over 90 days and edge closer to the 210 days, the more your chances of getting a settlement. So don't waste your money on settlement companies; do it yourself. There's no silver bullet and it's no rocket science. Be professional, courteous, don't plead, just stick to the fact that you don't have money to pay them and they will come down to your offer! Good luck!

Suzie what CC companies are you working with?

I would for sure if you can try to settle your debt yourself why pay someone else to do what you can do yourself? Ive managed to settle with one company and will continue working on the others. I'm really hoping I can settle with discover they are the ones I'm most worried about as I've seen on here they seem to sue pretty quickly and I'd really like to avoid being sued if possible.


Johnita